The Alberta Roundup with Isaac Lamoureux - Smith and Quebec team up to fight feds

00:00:00.000 Alberta Premier Daniel Smith wrote a letter to Quebec Premier François Legault

00:00:15.880 proposing that the two provinces team up in the battle against federal overreach.

00:00:20.720 Quebec has since replied, saying it's happy to create an autonomy alliance

00:00:24.760 to further loosen the tight grasp that the feds have over the two provinces. 0.97

00:00:29.040 Right after meeting with Smith, Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro stood up for Alberta and Canada

00:00:34.860 by voicing his opposition to tariffs on Canadian goods.

00:00:38.520 Smith has also continued to highlight Liberal Party of Canada leader Mark Carney's contradictions,

00:00:44.540 reminding Canadians that he told her one thing in person about Bill C-69,

00:00:49.020 but said another when they weren't together, adding that neither she nor the province would tolerate this.

00:00:55.020 Ending on a good note, though, Smith celebrated the recently announced tariffs

00:00:59.260 and that the United States have seemingly respected Kuzma

00:01:02.760 by not putting a tariff on the majority of goods sold into the United States from Canada.

00:01:08.360 All that and more on the Alberta Roundup today with your host, me, Isaac Lamoureux.

00:01:13.100 Let's hop in to that first story now.

00:01:15.500 Smith's letter to Quebec, which was obtained by True North,

00:01:18.360 followed her reading of Quebec's report of the Advisory Committee

00:01:21.480 on Quebec's constitutional issues within the Canadian Federation.

00:01:25.400 Smith had sent the letter to Legault on March 21st.

00:01:28.660 The original report listed 42 recommendations

00:01:31.580 related to Quebec's constitutional power and freedom,

00:01:35.100 the province's relation to the country, and other niche issues.

00:01:38.600 In a post to X, Smith said,

00:01:41.520 Alberta and Quebec should work together more often to keep Ottawa in their lane

00:01:45.580 and to protect the constitutionally protected jurisdictions of our provinces.

00:01:50.120 In her letter, Smith highlighted 12 of the recommendations specifically

00:01:54.100 and discussed how the two provinces could accomplish them collaboratively.

00:01:58.240 She said in the English version of her letter, which was also provided in French,

00:02:02.240 It is evident that Alberta and Quebec have significant common interests

00:02:06.420 with respect to countering overreach by the federal government

00:02:09.180 into matters of exclusive provincial jurisdiction.

00:02:12.320 The first recommendation Smith highlighted was the report's call

00:02:15.440 to provide Quebec with a framework law on defending and enhancing its constitutional freedom.

00:02:20.640 She said Alberta had acted similarly by implementing the Alberta Sovereignty

00:02:24.840 Within United Canada Act, and that she was willing to share information with Legault

00:02:29.100 so that he could implement similar legislation in Quebec.

00:02:32.020 Another recommendation Smith aligned with was adopting a constitutional amendment

00:02:36.820 to enshrine provincial laws concerning property and private law.

00:02:40.420 This change would ensure that provincial laws and civil rights

00:02:43.340 overrule federal laws that intrude on provincial jurisdiction.

00:02:47.080 It could be used to fight the Liberals' gun buyback program.

00:02:50.800 Despite the federal government throwing over $600 million at the program thus far,

00:02:55.840 a single gun has yet to be collected.

00:02:58.740 Smith wrote in her letter, quote,

00:03:00.240 I see an opportunity before us,

00:03:02.540 as the democratically elected leaders of Alberta and Quebec,

00:03:05.360 to chart a path forward to a new era in Canadian federalism.

00:03:09.040 I propose an initial conversation between ourselves,

00:03:11.720 followed by a jointly authored letter to our provincial and territorial counterparts,

00:03:16.420 proposing discussions on these and other items

00:03:18.920 to enhance provincial autonomy within the Federation.

00:03:21.640 The letter, of course, comes as the referendum movement gains momentum in Alberta.

00:03:26.440 Alberta could hold a referendum at its next series of municipal elections,

00:03:29.860 which are set to take place in October 2025.

00:03:32.940 Former Premier Jason Kenney conducted a referendum on Alberta equalization,

00:03:37.400 similarly by including a constitutional referendum question on the municipal election ballot.

00:03:42.840 Quebec's government has responded,

00:03:44.480 saying it is very happy with Smith's proposal to create an autonomy alliance.

00:03:48.240 The Montreal Gazette revealed that Simon Jolien Barrette,

00:03:51.780 the province's minister responsible for Canadian relations,

00:03:54.900 said the province is open to meeting with Smith to talk about her proposal more.

00:03:59.080 Jolien Barrette said that Smith's letter proves that Quebec's government's nationalist approach

00:04:04.540 to seek more power in the Federation is working,

00:04:07.100 and that the provincial government will run on this platform again in the 2026 election.

00:04:12.060 He told the Gazette, quote,

00:04:13.280 I find it very positive that within Canada there are Federation partners that agree

00:04:18.120 with more autonomy and a framework to limit the federal right to spend in areas of provincial jurisdiction.

00:04:24.320 It's very interesting because historically, Quebec and Alberta worked together,

00:04:28.080 and we will continue to work together on autonomy of the different provinces.

00:04:32.000 Now, coming back with an update on our lead story last week,

00:04:35.160 which was, of course, Smith defending her trip to meet with Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro in Florida.

00:04:40.500 Her trip was fruitful as Shapiro came out immediately after their meeting fighting for Canada.

00:04:46.540 Here's what Shapiro had to say.

00:04:48.340 Right now, Americans are giving President Trump the benefit of the doubt, as they should.

00:04:52.100 He's doing a lot of great things, which we'll get to in a moment, particularly with regard to Doge.

00:04:55.780 However, this is having an impact on President Trump's approval ratings, particularly on the economy.

00:05:00.900 And as I've said before, the way that people's relationship with politicians works in terms of public approval rating

00:05:05.620 is sort of like a marriage.

00:05:08.340 If the marriage is good, it's people doing little things for each other.

00:05:11.480 It's people with a shared sense of values that carries out over time.

00:05:15.360 If things go bad, typically there are a bunch of things that are small

00:05:18.520 and that eat away at the back of your mind that are bad.

00:05:21.880 And then suddenly the bottom goes out.

00:05:24.820 And right now, if the bottom goes out on the economy,

00:05:27.600 it will take the rest of President Trump's agenda with it.

00:05:30.800 CNN's Harry Enten was analyzing the polls with regard to the economy,

00:05:33.240 and they are not where they should be for President Trump.

00:05:36.200 They want him prioritizing inflation.

00:05:39.160 They don't want him prioritizing tariffs.

00:05:41.900 Yet that is exactly what he is doing.

00:05:44.360 So on this particular issue, Donald Trump is simply put not with the American public.

00:05:50.300 They oppose the tariffs, and yet they believe Donald Trump is going ahead with them.

00:05:54.040 And that is a big reason why we've seen Donald Trump's overall approval rating

00:05:57.380 take a pretty big dip over the last two months and change.

00:06:01.140 Okay, so, again, President Trump is still riding pretty high,

00:06:04.460 but all of that is predicated on no serious economic downturn,

00:06:08.080 and there's no reason for this.

00:06:09.100 Smith celebrated the result of her work in her own post to X.

00:06:12.540 She said, quote,

00:06:13.580 I am pleased to see that the day after I spent the evening speaking with Ben Shapiro

00:06:18.240 about the importance of maintaining a tariff-free relationship between Canada and the U.S.,

00:06:23.060 he posted this podcast for millions of his Republican and influential viewers to see.

00:06:28.320 While we may not agree on everything, we share the same message on this tariff dispute.

00:06:32.340 It is bad for Canada, and it is bad for the U.S.

00:06:35.240 She highlighted that common ground that was found,

00:06:37.420 that being that the tariff war is bad for both countries.

00:06:40.320 Smith claimed that Shapiro's Daily Wire has a monthly reach of 220 million followers.

00:06:47.040 Journalist David Staples said this is the second-largest audience of anyone in Trump's base.

00:06:52.940 In a separate Facebook post, Shapiro said, quote,

00:06:56.560 Markets don't lie.

00:06:58.000 Every time Trump announces new tariffs, the stock market plummets.

00:07:01.720 Investors know tariffs are bad for business.

00:07:04.260 Even while Canada dodged much of the tariffs on April 2nd, the market still took a serious hit.

00:07:10.520 Alberta NDP leader Nahid Nenshi complained about Smith meeting with Shapiro before she went,

00:07:15.940 calling him an extremist.

00:07:17.760 Then, going back to our lead story last week,

00:07:20.180 Smith grouped Nenshi and Mark Carney as enemies of Alberta,

00:07:23.800 warning that they were trying to divide Canadians and were too focused on virtue signaling instead of diplomacy.

00:07:29.200 She said, quote,

00:07:30.720 Their endgame is quite obvious.

00:07:32.620 Frighten and divide Canadians.

00:07:34.580 Try and make Canadians forget the utter incompetence of liberal and NDP policies

00:07:38.840 inflicted upon this country over the last 10 years.

00:07:42.180 Associate conservatives with President Trump.

00:07:45.100 Despite saying that Team Carney wanted her to abandon her post

00:07:48.320 and let legacy media punnets and left-wing politicians push her around, 1.00

00:07:52.440 Smith said she would not be silent.

00:07:55.320 She said, quote,

00:07:56.320 It's the Family and Friends event at Shopper's Drug Mart.

00:08:00.200 Get 20% off almost all regular-priced merchandise.

00:08:03.400 Two days only.

00:08:04.480 Tuesday, February 24th and Wednesday, February 25th.

00:08:08.000 Open your PC Optimum app to get your coupon.

00:08:12.840 Quote,

00:08:13.700 We will not be pushed around and called traitors for merely having the courage to actually do something

00:08:18.840 about our nation's and our province's predicament other than merely indulging in self-righteous tantrums.

00:08:24.540 And I, for one, will never be silenced by the party in Ottawa that has sold out our beloved province for the last 10 years

00:08:31.300 with the help of their NDP collaborators.

00:08:34.460 Smith added, quote,

00:08:35.860 And until this danger to Alberta and our economy is passed,

00:08:39.220 they're going to have to roll me off in a stretcher before I stop fighting for this province and our people.

00:08:44.720 Taking it back to another aspect we covered last week,

00:08:48.100 Smith highlighted one of the many contradictions that Mark Carney has made.

00:08:52.180 She said that he told her in person that Bill C-69 was bad for energy projects and needed to be dealt with.

00:08:58.860 Perhaps him dealing with it was somehow misinterpreted, though,

00:09:02.200 as Carney has now come out in support of the No More Pipelines Act.

00:09:06.160 He said his government would not repeal the bill.

00:09:09.780 Smith said, quote,

00:09:10.940 Hopefully this election results in a new prime minister that can be trusted to get rid of these terrible policies.

00:09:21.040 In Smith's first meeting with Carney, she laid out various demands to, quote,

00:09:25.020 One of the demands, of course, was to kill Bill C-69.

00:09:31.480 Many of the other demands echoed those of the 14 energy behemoths in the letter they recently wrote to Carney,

00:09:38.220 urging him to declare a, quote,

00:09:39.940 Canadian energy crisis.

00:09:42.220 These other demands included scrapping the planned emissions cap,

00:09:45.500 repealing the carbon levy on major industrial emitters,

00:09:48.380 and lifting regulatory barriers that have slowed the sector.

00:09:51.580 While the consumer portion of the carbon tax was lowered to $0 on April 1st,

00:09:55.740 The Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act remains on the books and can only be removed by a majority vote in Parliament.

00:10:03.080 The industrial levy remains as well.

00:10:05.460 Nonetheless, Smith posted a picture of her holding up an Axe the Tax sign on X,

00:10:10.640 celebrating Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre's government for their years of pressure and work on dealing with the carbon tax.

00:10:17.480 She said Albertans can expect to save $215 in fuel and $480 in home heating annually.

00:10:24.460 She said her government will be watching retailers and holding them accountable

00:10:28.640 to make sure that Albertans get the tax break they deserve.

00:10:32.140 The much-anticipated Liberation Day, announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on April 2nd,

00:10:38.020 saw Canada avoid much of the worst tariffs as the country was excluded from a list of countries

00:10:44.000 who had reciprocal tariffs placed against them.

00:10:46.960 However, Trump announced a sweeping 25% tariff on all automobile imports, including those from Canada.

00:10:53.500 Trump said,

00:10:54.920 For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered by nations near and far,

00:11:01.800 both friend and foe alike.

00:11:03.900 American steelworkers, autoworkers, farmers, and skilled craftsmen, they really suffered gravely.

00:11:10.060 They watched in anguish as foreign leaders have stolen our jobs,

00:11:13.500 foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories,

00:11:15.640 and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once-beautiful American dream. 1.00

00:11:19.520 Canada is also still subject to a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum.

00:11:24.200 However, a carve-out for all goods previously negotiated under KUSMA was granted.

00:11:29.960 Smith said that the KUSMA carve-out is exactly what she's been asking the U.S. administration

00:11:34.320 for during her months of negotiating.

00:11:37.140 She added this means that most goods will have no tariffs, such as energy, minerals,

00:11:42.300 agricultural products, uranium, seafood, and more.

00:11:45.600 Smith said,

00:11:46.720 I again call on all involved in our national advocacy efforts to focus on diplomacy and persuasion

00:11:53.320 while avoiding unnecessary escalation.

00:11:56.200 Clearly, this strategy has been the most effective to this point.

00:12:00.320 She added,

00:12:00.900 As it appears the worst of this tariff dispute is behind us, though there is still work to be done,

00:12:06.620 it is my sincere hope that we, as Canadians, can abandon the disastrous policies that have

00:12:11.680 made Canada vulnerable to and overly dependent on the United States.

00:12:15.920 Fast-track national resource corridors, get out of the way of provincial resource development,

00:12:20.700 and turn our country into an independent economic juggernaut and energy superpower.

00:12:25.820 The reciprocal tariffs announced by Trump applied to 50 other countries.

00:12:30.220 Trump said any company not wanting to pay the tariffs would have to move its manufacturing to

00:12:34.900 America.

00:12:35.640 He noted several companies, including Meta, Apple, and General Motors, which have already

00:12:40.200 begun investing up to $500 billion each in moving production to the U.S.

00:12:45.980 He also said any nation hit with reciprocal tariffs wishing to remove them will have to remove

00:12:50.600 their own tariffs, drop their trade restrictions, and not manipulate their currencies.

00:12:55.520 Trump said,

00:12:56.100 I think you're going to remember today, it's going to be a free nation that we're dealing

00:13:00.380 with.

00:13:00.960 We're going to have a very free and beautiful nation.

00:13:03.460 It's going to be Liberation Day in America, and it's going to be a day that hopefully you're 1.00

00:13:07.320 going to look back in years to come, and you're going to say, you know, he was right.

00:13:12.040 This has turned out to be one of the most important days in the history of our country.

00:13:16.380 That wraps up this week's show.

00:13:18.260 My name's Isaac Lamoureux, your host of the Alberta Roundup.

00:13:20.840 Have a great weekend.

00:13:21.900 Thank you, and God bless.

00:13:26.100 Thank you.

The Alberta Roundup with Isaac Lamoureux - April 06, 2025

Smith and Quebec team up to fight feds

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